First Changes to New Green Standard Proposed

Changes to the new standard for the design of high-performance green buildings have been proposed. ANSI/ASHRAE/USGBC/IES Standard 189.1, Standard for the Design of High-Performance, Green Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, is the first code-intended commercial green-building standard in the United States. The standard provides a long-needed green-building foundation for those who strive to design, build, and operate green buildings. It covers topics such as site sustainability, water-use efficiency, energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and a building’s impact on the atmosphere, materials, and resources.

Changes already have been proposed under the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineer’s (ASHRAE’s) continuous-maintenance procedure, which allows requests for changes to any part of a standard to be made at any time.

“Given the high amount of interest in this standard, using continuous maintenance allows us to incorporate current technical information on a timely basis,” Kent Peterson, chair of the standard’s committee, said. “These changes are then put out for public review and comment, which results in an industry-consensus standard.”

Open for public comment are addenda a and b. The public-review period for Addendum b ends April 4, while the public-review period for Addendum a ends April 19. Addendum a makes the daylighting definitions and criteria consistent with changes recently proposed to ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings, which sets requirements for energy-efficient buildings. Addendum b reduces the space limitation for daylighting requirements. Rather than requiring daylighting in spaces larger than 1,000 sq ft, the proposal would require it in spaces larger than 250 sq ft.

Members also are being sought for the committee developing Standard 189.1, with slots opening July 1. The deadline to apply is March 31. For more information on membership, contact standardssection@ashrae.org.

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